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1718958

registered interest
date	16/05/2024
answering body	Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
answering dept id	216
answering dept short name	Science, Innovation and Technology
answering dept sort name	Science, Innovation and Technology
hansard heading	Mobile Phones: Rural Areas
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to assess the service provided by Vodafone and other mobile operators in remote areas to ensure that they are complying with their operating licences.
tabling member printed	Lord Pearson of Rannoch
uin	HL4739
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/05/2024 answer text <p>The coverage outcomes that the mobile network operators committed to as part of the Shared Rural Network and that were then added to their spectrum licences are overseen by Ofcom, with regular reporting throughout the life of the programme to ensure agreed obligations and targets are met. Compliance with these obligations will be assessed by Ofcom at the end of June 2024, by when each operator has committed to have reached 88% geographic coverage of the UK, and 2027 when each operator has committed to have reached at least 90% geographic coverage of the UK. Progress towards these outcomes is published in the regular Ofcom Connected Nations reports.</p> answering member printed Viscount Camrose question first answered 23/05/2024 10:23:54 answering member 4939 label Biography information for Viscount Camrose
tabling member	3153 label Biography information for Lord Pearson of Rannoch

1718971

registered interest
date	16/05/2024
answering body	Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
answering dept id	216
answering dept short name	Science, Innovation and Technology
answering dept sort name	Science, Innovation and Technology
hansard heading	Artificial Intelligence: Recruitment
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to (1) attract, and (2) retain, top AI professionals in the UK.
tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
uin	HL4752
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/05/2024 answer text <p>Government is committed to ensuring there is a sustainable pipeline of skills workers. Since 2018 we have invested £290 million in AI skills and talent initiatives. This includes the funding of AI and Data Science Conversion Courses scholarships for underrepresented groups.</p><p>The AI Futures programme helps attract top early to mid-career AI talent from around the world to the UK, including through a grants scheme which supports universities and SMEs to meet relocation costs of exceptional AI researchers and engineers.</p><p>We also help UK tech companies access world-class talent through the Global Talent Visa and the Scaleup Worker Visa.</p> answering member printed Viscount Camrose question first answered 23/05/2024 12:21:53 answering member 4939 label Biography information for Viscount Camrose
tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

1717000

registered interest
date	09/05/2024
answering body	Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
answering dept id	216
answering dept short name	Science, Innovation and Technology
answering dept sort name	Science, Innovation and Technology
hansard heading	Universities: China
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what collaborations on medical research are currently taking place between government-funded universities in the UK, and medical and research institutions based in China; and whether any of these collaborations relate to organ transplantation.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL4495
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/05/2024 answer text <p>The International Science Partnerships Fund and Newton Fund have active medical research programmes involving collaborations between UK Higher Education Institutions and Chinese counterparts. These predominantly focus on antimicrobial resistance and pandemic preparedness and none of them relate to organ transplantation.</p> answering member printed Viscount Camrose question first answered 23/05/2024 09:57:14 answering member 4939 label Biography information for Viscount Camrose
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1716641

registered interest
date	08/05/2024
answering body	Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
answering dept id	216
answering dept short name	Science, Innovation and Technology
answering dept sort name	Science, Innovation and Technology
hansard heading	Voice over Internet Protocol
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the new arrangements and communications relating to the roll out of Digital Voice by BT; in particular, what assessment they have made of the clarity of communications to customers regarding opting in or out of the ability to retain their copper connection or move to fibre and how they should do this; whether any opt in or opt out is indefinite or for a limited period; and what are the costs to an individual customer of opting in or opting out.
tabling member printed	Lord Clement-Jones
uin	HL4446
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/05/2024 answer text <p>The PSTN switch-off is a necessity, given that the network is past its serviceable life and is experiencing increasing failure rates year-on-year. Ultimately everyone will need to move off a copper connection for safety.</p><p>Currently, with the exception of a small number of customers who do not use or need a landline, BT has paused all non-voluntary migrations to Digital Voice. As agreed in the PSTN Charter for Communication Providers in December 2023, non-voluntary migrations will only be restarted once BT can guarantee that all possible steps have been taken to protect vulnerable users. Initially, only customers who are identified as not being vulnerable as a result of the PSTN switch-off, will be migrated. However, the migration of vulnerable customers will still happen at a later point with the appropriate support from BT.</p><p>The Department is currently working with BT, among other key stakeholders, to define any groups at a heightened risk during the migration, as per the PSTN charter. If a customer notifies BT of any additional needs, they will also be able to defer their migration.</p><p>Customers with vulnerabilities or additional needs who are choosing to move to Digital Voice will be provided with free support from BT, such as an engineer in-home installation, a battery backup unit and/or a hybrid landline-mobile handset.</p><p>Customers signing new contracts will be provided with a digital landline by default unless they are identified as a telecare user, in which case their migration will be deferred. Openreach engineers will not currently proceed with a migration during an in-home visit if a telecare device is found at a premises.</p><p>Customers should not expect to see any additional fees from migrating to VoIP or continuing to use their PSTN landlines.</p> answering member printed Viscount Camrose question first answered 22/05/2024 11:08:15 answering member 4939 label Biography information for Viscount Camrose
tabling member	3396 label Biography information for Lord Clement-Jones

1716648

registered interest
date	08/05/2024
answering body	Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
answering dept id	216
answering dept short name	Science, Innovation and Technology
answering dept sort name	Science, Innovation and Technology
hansard heading	Sustainable Development: Research
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support research into sustainable materials, including those limiting emissions along entire material and product lifecycles.
tabling member printed	Baroness Hayman of Ullock
uin	HL4457
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/05/2024 answer text <p>The Government are committed to supporting the research and development of sustainable materials, notably where it enhances our commitments to net zero. The Government set up the Henry Royce Institute in 2015, the UK’s centre for advanced materials research with an initial £235m in investment provided by HMG. In 2022 an additional £95 million was provided to the Royce Institute.</p><p> </p><p>The cross-government Innovation Accelerator Programme through InnovateUK has funded a two-year pilot for a Centre of Expertise in Advanced Materials and Sustainability (CEAMS), part of wider programme that will see £100 million invested across 26 transformative R&amp;D projects.</p><p> </p><p>The UK government through UKRI has awarded the Foundation Industries Sustainability Consortium £19.5 million to run the Economic Material Innovation for Sustainable and Efficient use of Resources (EconoMISER) programme. The funding provides the UK’s Foundation Industries, who contribute 10% of the total CO<sub>2</sub> emitted by UK homes and businesses, with the essential tools needed to decarbonise.</p> answering member printed Viscount Camrose question first answered 22/05/2024 11:07:01 answering member 4939 label Biography information for Viscount Camrose
tabling member	4395 label Biography information for Baroness Hayman of Ullock

1715730

registered interest
date	02/05/2024
answering body	Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
answering dept id	216
answering dept short name	Science, Innovation and Technology
answering dept sort name	Science, Innovation and Technology
hansard heading	National Security Online Information Team
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what topics the National Security Online Information Team is currently monitoring.
tabling member printed	Lord Strathcarron
uin	HL4362
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/05/2024 answer text <p>NSOIT’s role is to tackle the greatest national security risks facing the UK from mis and disinformation. It specifically looks at threats posed by foreign states, risks to elections and risks arising from the use of AI and deepfakes. This remit is kept under regular review by DSIT’s ministers.</p> answering member printed Viscount Camrose question first answered 16/05/2024 14:43:10 answering member 4939 label Biography information for Viscount Camrose
tabling member	4937 label Biography information for Lord Strathcarron

1715063

registered interest
date	30/04/2024
answering body	Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
answering dept id	216
answering dept short name	Science, Innovation and Technology
answering dept sort name	Science, Innovation and Technology
hansard heading	Financial Times: Artificial Intelligence
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government, following the recent content licensing agreement between The Financial Times and OpenAI, what assessment they have made of the potential implications this may have for the AI industry; and what steps they are taking to further promote transparency and accountability in AI-driven content generation and distribution.
tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
uin	HL4244
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/05/2024 answer text <p>The Government wants the AI sector and our creative industries to grow together in partnership and is encouraged to see agreements being reached between AI developers and press publishers.</p><p>As set out in its response to the AI White Paper, the Government believes there should be greater transparency from AI developers in relation to data inputs and the attribution of outputs. It is considering ways to achieve this and will engage closely with right holders and AI developers.</p> answering member printed Viscount Camrose question first answered 15/05/2024 10:56:07 answering member 4939 label Biography information for Viscount Camrose
tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

1714015

registered interest
date	25/04/2024
answering body	Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
answering dept id	216
answering dept short name	Science, Innovation and Technology
answering dept sort name	Science, Innovation and Technology
hansard heading	Artificial Intelligence: Competition
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government, following concerns raised by the Competition and Markets Authority about potential 'over-dependence' on a small number of major tech firms in the AI industry, what steps they are taking (1) to promote competition, and (2) to prevent monopolistic practices, within the AI sector.
tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
uin	HL4122
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/05/2024 answer text <p>The Government is committed to ensuring that digital markets work well for businesses and consumers. It will be for the CMA in the first instance as the independent regulator to decide how to exercise its powers to address any competition issues in digital markets as they develop.</p><p> </p><p>The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill will give the CMA new, faster and more effective tools to identify and address competition issues in digital markets, including AI markets. These will apply where it finds firms have substantial and entrenched market power and a position of strategic significance in one or more digital activities. Subject to Parliamentary timings, the Bill is on track to receive Royal Assent in Spring, and we expect the regime will come into force in Autumn this year.</p> answering member printed Viscount Camrose question first answered 10/05/2024 10:05:35 answering member 4939 label Biography information for Viscount Camrose
tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

1713717

registered interest
date	24/04/2024
answering body	Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
answering dept id	216
answering dept short name	Science, Innovation and Technology
answering dept sort name	Science, Innovation and Technology
hansard heading	Digital Technology: Disadvantaged
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to update the Digital skills and inclusion policy published on 5 April 2017, and when they plan to publish an updated version.
tabling member printed	Baroness Jones of Whitchurch
uin	HL4067
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/05/2024 answer text <p><strong></strong></p><p>The 2022 Digital Strategy outlined work across Government to promote digital inclusion and digital skills. HMG is investing £3.8bn in skills in England by 2024-25 and recently quadrupled the scale of Skills Bootcamps. Additionally, the Digital Skills Entitlement offers free basic digital skills training to adults in England.</p><p> </p><p>The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology is responsible for coordinating cross-Government digital inclusion policy. Digital inclusion is a cross-cutting issue and responsibility for relevant policies, including monitoring and evaluation, sit within individual government departments.</p> answering member printed Viscount Camrose question first answered 09/05/2024 11:23:29 answering member 4939 label Biography information for Viscount Camrose
tabling member	3792 label Biography information for Baroness Jones of Whitchurch

1713718

registered interest
date	24/04/2024
answering body	Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
answering dept id	216
answering dept short name	Science, Innovation and Technology
answering dept sort name	Science, Innovation and Technology
hansard heading	Digital Technology: Training
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of the population they estimate will be digitally literate by 2030.
tabling member printed	Baroness Jones of Whitchurch
uin	HL4068
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/05/2024 answer text <p>This Government has been clear that ensuring that no one is left behind in the digital age is a key priority. The 2023 Consumer Digital Index found that 92% of UK adults have the ‘Essential Digital Skills for Life’.</p><p>The National Curriculum subject of computing ensures that pupils become digitally literate so that they are able to use, express themselves and develop their ideas through information and communication technology, at a level suitable for the future workplace and as active participants in a digital world. Computing is compulsory in all Local Authority maintained schools across Key Stages 1 to 4.</p><p>Media literacy is also included in the citizenship curriculum which is compulsory for all maintained secondary schools. Furthermore, under our ambitious Online Media Literacy Strategy, we have provided almost £2.5million in grant funding for projects designed to build the media literacy and critical thinking skills for users of all ages.</p><p>The government has also introduced a digital skills entitlement in August 2020 for adults with no or low digital skills to undertake specified digital qualifications, up to Level 1, free of charge. Such qualifications enable people to gain the skills needed to participate in modern life, access further study, and find and progress in work.</p> answering member printed Viscount Camrose question first answered 09/05/2024 15:20:36 answering member 4939 label Biography information for Viscount Camrose
tabling member	3792 label Biography information for Baroness Jones of Whitchurch